1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle seamless interior panels for concealing and deploying an airbag.
2. Background Art
Airbags are widely known throughout the vehicle industry. Currently, a number of designs exist in which airbags are configured for deployment in vehicle compartments. Deployment of airbags through interior panels of a vehicle is also widely known. An airbag for an occupant in a passenger compartment of a vehicle is typically designed to deploy through a front interior panel of the vehicle. Typically, a hinged portion or a door portion of an interior panel allows an airbag to deploy therethrough during an impact of the vehicle, providing support and cushion to the occupant.
However, designers of interior panels and airbags have been challenged with providing effective deployment of an airbag while providing a pleasing aesthetic appearance on an interior panel through which the airbag may deploy. Designers of interior panels have also been challenged to provide such interior panels in a cost effective manner. An interior panel may generally have a retainer portion and a door portion through which an airbag may deploy. In several designs, the retainer portion circumscribes the door portion which comprises a substantial portion of the panel. In these designs, the interior panel has a visible seam having low resistence to normal or shear stress to allow deployment of an airbag therethrough. This seam clearly distinguishes the door portion from the retainer portion of the panel. Manufacturers of interior panels have met the challenge with limited success in providing an interior panel as described above with a non-visible seam.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cost effective interior panel as described above having a non-visible seam, and a method of manufacturing such a panel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seamless interior panel for concealing an airbag. The panel comprises a first panel portion and a second panel portion. The first panel portion is adapted to lay sufficiently adjacent to the airbag to form a door through which the airbag may deploy. The first panel portion has an appearance finish. The second panel portion integrally circumscribes the first panel portion to form a retainer of the panel. The second panel portion has an appearance finish compatible to the appearance finish of the first panel portion such that no seam is visible. The first panel portion is molded together with the second panel portion. The first panel portion is formed of a material different than the material of the second panel portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention a vehicle door panel has a seamless airbag door for deploying an airbag. The panel comprises a retainer portion and a door portion. The retainer portion is disposed adjacent the airbag and has an opening to define a void over the airbag. The retainer portion has an appearance finish. The door portion is disposed within the void integrally circumscribed by the retainer portion to define the seamless airbag door through which the airbag deploys. The door portion has an appearance finish compatible to the appearance finish of the retainer portion such that no seam is visible. The door portion is molded together with the retainer portion and is formed of a material different than the material of the retainer portion.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of making a vehicle seamless panel for concealing an airbag. The method includes providing a first mold member and a second mold member having a first portion and a second portion. The first mold member and the first portion cooperates to define a first closed mold cavity configured to form a retainer portion of the panel to be disposed adjacent the airbag. The retainer portion has an opening to define a void over the airbag. The first mold member and the second portion cooperates to define a second closed mold cavity configured to hold the molded retainer portion and to form a door portion of the panel to be disposed within the void. The door portion is integrally circumscribed by the retainer portion. The method further includes moving the first portion into contact with the first mold member to cooperate with the first mold member to form the first closed mold cavity and injecting a first material into the first closed mold cavity to form the retainer portion of the panel. The method further includes moving the second portion into contact with the first mold member to cooperate with the first mold member to form the second closed mold cavity and injecting a second material into the second closed mold cavity to form the door portion of the panel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide another method of making a vehicle seamless panel for concealing an airbag. The method provides a first mold member and a second mold member wherein the second mold member has a movable part operative to selectively vary the configuration of a mold cavity formed by the first and second mold member when the part is moved between first and second position. The first mold member cooperates with the second mold member with the movable part in the first position to define a first closed mold cavity configured to form a retainer portion of the panel to be disposed adjacent the airbag. The retainer portion has an opening to define a void over the airbag. The first mold member cooperates with the second mold member when the part is placed in the second position to define a second closed mold cavity configured to hold the molded retainer portion and to form a door portion of the panel to be disposed within the opening integrally circumscribed by the retainer portion. The method further comprises placing the part of the second mold member in the first position to cooperate with the first mold member to provide the first closed mold cavity and injecting the first material into the first closed mold cavity to form the retainer portion of the panel. The method further includes moving the part of the second mold member to the second position to cooperate with the first mold member to provide the second mold cavity and injecting a second material into the second closed mold cavity to form the door portion of the panel.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.